Some Mets history was made Sunday at Sun Trust Park as Jose Reyes ran past Darryl Strawberry on the Mets all time extra base hits list. His first inning triple was his 470th extra base hit with the Mets, passing Strawberry who had 469. He has a tough mountain to climb to get past the leader, David Wright, who has 658.
After going 1-for-4 last night, Jose Reyes continues to make a strong case for why the Mets should bring him back next season. Just take a look at how good he’s been:
Opening Day – June 27th (73 games): .193/.270/.323 with 9 2B, 3 3B, 6 HR, 24 RBI and 10 SB
June 28th – September 17th (60 games): .299/.364/.512 with 12 2B, 4 3B, 7 HR, 29 RBI and 11 SB
So, since before the All Star Break, Reyes has hit just about .300 and has been the spark plug the Mets originally signed him to be. His 21 steals leads the Mets team by far, with Amed Rosario behind him with seven.
If he continues to hit like this and is willing to come back next season on a relatively cheap deal, there’s no reason why the Mets shouldn’t take a chance. At the very least, he would be a good mentor for Amed Rosario while providing a switch-hitting and speedy option off the bench. Best case scenario? Why not try him at second base?
Reyes started this season playing third base – he was terrible. Then he played shortstop for a while – he was terrible. Then he played second base – he was not terrible. In fact, he’s been pretty good at the keystone where he hasn’t played since 2004. In 122 innings he has a 0.4 UZR and -2 DRS, far better than his -2.9 UZR and -5 DRS at third and his -1.1 UZR and -11 DRS at shortstop.
The 34-year-old is showing that despite his age, he can still be productive. How he hits for the rest of this season will determine whether or not he will be employed for next season by the Mets, or any other team for that matter.
